


A Perfect Mate

by QueenieLacy



Series: Lose Control [11]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Adult Language, Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Cousin Incest, Insecure Erik, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 10:26:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18737173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenieLacy/pseuds/QueenieLacy
Summary: When the royal family visits the Outreach Center in Oakland, Nakia can’t help but notice the way T’Challa treats Erik.





	A Perfect Mate

N’Jadaka’s leg bounced as the black SUV made its way into his old neighborhood. He hadn’t been to his old hood in a while. He was anxious to see what had changed, if anything. N’Jadaka hadn’t been a big fan of the outreach center idea. 

 

_ “What the fuck is a community center gonna do for da hood?” He questioned T’Challa once he brought the idea to him.  _

_ “It will do many things.” T’Challa tried to argue. _

_ “Like what? You just gonna have some therapist fill they heads with dreams that they won’t be able to achieve cuz they don’t have the help!” N’Jadaka yelled. “You just don’t understand-.” _

_ “You are right.” T’Challa cut him off. “I do not fully understand. That is why I want you to help with this. You will know how to make these outreach centers work.” T’Challa explained before closing the space between him and N’Jadaka, pulling the man into his arms. “Please N’Jadaka, give this a chance.” The king begged. _

_ N’Jadaka rolled his eyes before letting out a sigh. “Don’t complain when dis shit don’t work.” _

 

“Oh wait…” N’Jadaka said as they turned the corner, in awe at what he was seeing out of his window. “This ain’t my hood.” The first thing he noticed was how empty the streets were. There were no boys standing on the corner, no crackheads begging for dollars. He saw a few kids playing and a woman at the bus stop, but that was really it. He turned and looked over at T’Challa, the king smiling back at him. N’Jadaka narrowed his eyes at the man, knowing what he was thinking.

“Oh wow, the outreach center looks good.” Shuri called out from the far backseat. The princess wanted to join them on their trip through America and who was T’Challa to deny her? It wasn’t like he could actually deny her of the trip. She would have just come on her own if he said no. At least this way, he could keep an eye on her. 

N’Jadaka turned back to look out of the window and saw the outreach center. “Oh, T’Challa.” N’Jadaka quietly gasped as he looked up at the Prince N’Jobu Outreach Center. He couldn’t believe he named the center after his father. The building looked as if it had been picked up from Wakanda’s capital and plopped down in the middle of Oakland. It was brightly colored and stood out against its surroundings. The lawn was nicely manicured and a large panther statue was placed in front of the building.

The black SUV came to a stop and parked in front of the building. T’Challa opened his door and slid out of the car, helping his sister and N’Jadaka out before walking toward the building with them. “Thank you.” T’Challa turned his head to look over at N’Jadaka.

“For dedicating the center to my dad.” He explained and T’Challa gave him a smile.

“Don’t thank me.” T’Challa started. “Thank Nakia, she is the one who named the building.” He explained and N’Jadaka nodded. The king took his hand and followed behind Shuri into the building. 

N’Jadaka now understood why no one was standing on the corner. It seemed as if the whole city of Oakland was in the outreach center. The center was filled with people, children and adults, learning Wakandan technology as well as the technology they readily had access to in America. From his spot, he could see many classrooms but they stood in the middle of the center. It was a wide open space that reminded him of Shuri’s lab. There were workstations all over the room, surrounded by people working on their projects and learning how to create new things. It was amazing to see people so excited to learn and create something.

“T’Challa!” 

The trio looked to their left and saw Nakia moving toward them. N’Jadaka swallowed hard as she approached them. She watched as the woman hugged Shuri and then T’Challa. He felt weird being near T’Challa’s ex, especially like this. She was obviously good at her job. Nakia was really helping this community and others that she worked with. She really cared about helping the world become a better place for the African diaspora, but there was a nagging feeling inside of him about her. A feeling that made him nervous and something else that he couldn’t quite identify.

“N’Jadaka.” He was pulled from his thoughts when T’Challa called his name. The king held out his hand and he took it, allowing the man to pull him closer. “You met Nakia.” T’Challa said and he nodded. Nakia smiled at him and he could tell it was a genuine one.

“It’s cool what you did...namin’ this place after my dad.” N’Jadaka told her. 

Nakia shrugged. “It is the least I can do.” She answered. “He died fighting for what he believed in.” She added and he nodded. “Do you all want to look around?”

“Please!” Shuri said excitedly. Nakia smiled at the princess before leading them around the outreach center. As Nakia showed the center off to the royal family, she couldn’t help but notice the way T’Challa treated N’Jadaka. When she spoke to Shuri a few days ago, she mentioned her brother was in love with the man they used to call Killmonger and he was too stupid to realize it. She chuckled at the statement. It could not be, especially after his anger and the things Erik said. She was sure it was just Shuri’s childlike imagination, dreaming up something that wasn’t true, but Nakia was starting to believe Shuri was right.

T’Challa held N’Jadaka close to his body, his hand never leaving the man’s lower back as they moved around the center. The looks they shared, little hand movements and bumping shoulders made it look like they had their own nonverbal language. T’Challa could understand every hum, groan, or grunt N’Jadaka made as she showed off the space. Nakia noticed that whenever T’Challa looked at N’Jadaka, he looked at him as if he were a God, like N’Jadaka created his whole universe...like N’Jadaka was his whole universe. 

In all the time they were together, she couldn’t remember a time when he ever looked at her like that. Had he ever been that affectionate with her? Did he ever hold her like he held N’Jadaka? They didn’t have their own nonverbal language. They could barely communicate verbally. She knew she wasn’t his everything and he wasn’t her everything either. Whether he knew it or not, T’Challa was in love with N’Jadaka. She understood everything now.

“Hey, I want to run an idea by you.” T’Challa said and pulled Nakia to the side to speak with her. 

N’Jadaka saw the two speaking with one another as he stood next to Shuri, who was teaching a small child how to use the workspace tablet. He watched as the two leaned into one another as they spoke. T’Challa said something that made Nakia laugh and N’Jadaka noticed she had a cute laugh. The woman’s hand touched T’Challa’s bicep and patted him there. T’Challa smiled as the continued their conversation.

_ Insecurity _

That was the earlier unidentified feeling. Nakia made him feel insecure because she was the one that should be with T’Challa. She would be the picture perfect queen. Smart, caring, beautiful and well-mannered. Nakia looked great standing next to T’Challa in her pencil skirt and low heels. Her blouse made her look like a royal on a casual visit. He could imagine her accompanying T’Challa on official trips around the world as his queen and no one would ever question her presence. She belonged more than he ever would. N’Jadaka saw T’Challa and Nakia turn back to them and he quickly looked down to pretend like he was paying attention to what Shuri was teaching the boy.

“N’Jadaka.” T’Challa said and the man looked up at him. N’Jadaka moved closer to him so he could hear him. “I have to go now to my meeting.” T’Challa said and N’Jadaka nodded. T’Challa’s meeting with some tech CEOs was the real reason they were in California. “You and Shuri can stay here longer if you like. I will have the other car come and get you. Ayo will go with me. The other Doras will stay with you two.” He explained and T’Challa leaned in to kiss N’Jadaka. “I am hoping this does not take long. I would like all of us to go to dinner with Nakia.”

N’Jadaka swallowed hard before nodding. “Yeah, that’ll be good.” He answered before T’Challa kissed him again. “See ya later.”

“Bye.” T’Challa said and gave N’Jadaka another quick kiss before leaving with Ayo. N’Jadaka watched the king leave before turning around to go back to Shuri. When he turned, he caught Nakia staring at him. She look as if he was thinking hard. N’Jadaka wondered if he saw them kiss. Maybe she was mad...He quickly looked away and went back over to Shuri.

“I thought you said you didn’t like to teach.” He teased the princess as a group of kids gathered around her.

“I hate teaching dumb interns but these kids are so smart.” She cooed at the kids before going back to her subject. N’Jadaka chuckled before walking away to look around and join in at another station. He enjoyed how enthusiastic everyone was about the new technology and learning everything. He hated to admit that T’Challa was right, but these outreach centers might actually help the hood. 

After a few hours at the center, N’Jadaka and Shuri decided to leave and return to the hotel to rest. They knew T’Challa would come back and probably want to go out for dinner so they wanted to be rested and not worn out. Shuri talked non stop about the center and the kids as they rode back to the hotel. N’Jadaka nodded and smiled because he couldn’t get a word in otherwise. He was happy she was so excited about the center because he was just as excited on the inside. He honestly couldn’t wait to open up more and visit them all. 

They arrived at the hotel and the two went to their rooms. N’Jadaka shared a suite with N’Jadaka while Shuri had her own space. “I’ll call your room when T’Challa gets back.” He told her as the elevator opened. 

“Okay, I will come down when you call.” She said and then went toward her room. N’Jadaka turned and went his way. He reached his room and pushed the door open when he heard the magnetic lock click. N’Jadaka made sure the door was secure before moving into the suite. He threw himself onto the couch and sighed as he grabbed the remote. He loved the kids at the center, but they had way too much energy. How Nakia kept up with all of them, he would never know.

N’Jadaka flipped through the channels and smiled at all of the shows he knew so well. Maury, Jerry Springer and all of the other trash television shows he used to watch after school and all day during the summer months. He decided on Maury and placed the remote down onto the side table. He chuckled as he watched the woman run off the stage after Maury said the man wasn’t the father of her baby.

“Why did I love dis shit when I was younger?” N’Jadaka wondered aloud as he watched the show. He shook his head at most of the content his saw. As the show rolled on, he found it harder to keep his eyes open. They began to get heavier and heavier until he couldn’t keep the open anymore.

* * *

 

N’Jadaka gasped and sat up fast when he heard the loud knock at the door. He let out a breath of relief as he realized it was just knocking. He’d fallen into a deep sleep and the loud noise had scared him. He looked at the TV and noticed Maury was off, so he had at least been asleep for an hour. He stretched and let out a yawn before standing up from the couch. Who would be knocking at the door?

“This nigga betta not have lost his keycard.” N’Jadaka mumbled about T’Challa as he walked over to the door. He opened the door without looking through the peephole, knowing the Dora outside wouldn’t have knocked if the person was a threat to him. “Nig-.” He cut his own self off when he saw that it wasn’t T’Challa. He was surprised to see Nakia standing there, holding a bag of something in her right hand. “Nakia, um, hey.” He greeted her as he tried to shake-off the shock. “Um,T, I mean, T’Challa ain’t here. He still at the meetin’.” He explained and she nodded.

“Good.” Nakia said with a smile. “I wanted to talk with you anyway. May I?” She asked and he stepped aside.

“Yeah, come in.” He said and Nakia walked into the suite. He closed the door before leading her into the living room area. “Please sit, you want somethin’?” He asked as he led her toward the couch.

“No.” She answered as she sat. “But I have something for you.” Nakia said as she handed him the bag she was holding. 

“Thank you.” He said as he took the bag. He peeked into the bag and let out a laugh. “T’Challa?” 

Nakia chuckled. “Shuri.” She answered. 

“Fo’real?” He questioned and she nodded. He laughed as he shook his head, moving over to grab two glasses and the bucket of ice. N’Jadaka walked back over to Nakia and placed the glasses and ice on the table before pulling the bottle of Hennessy from the bag. He poured Nakia and himself a shot before sitting down on the couch. “To the Outreach Center.” N’Jadaka said as he lifted his glass.

“The Outreach Center.” Nakia said and then their glasses clinked together. N’Jadaka and Nakia both threw the shot of Hennessy back. “Oh, that is strong.” Nakia coughed before sitting her glass down.

“Yeah, it’s not really meant to go down that fast but…” N’Jadaka shrugged before pouring more into his glass. “So...you said you wanted to talk to me.” He stated as he settled back onto the couch. His mind worked to figure out what Nakia wanted to talk about. It had to be about the center.

Nakia let out a nervous chuckle. “I...When I learned about you and T’Challa.” She started and N’Jadaka swallowed hard. He wasn’t sure where this was going to go. He didn’t want to deal with a crazy ex an end up on a missing person’s poster. 

“When I first learned about you and T’Challa.” She started again, more confident in her words. “I wondered what about you was so special that you could convince him to do something that I have wanted to do for years.” She admitted and N’Jadaka’s eyes widened.

“I have wanted to open Wakanda and help the rest of the world for years, but he always shut down my ideas. I first told him about the outreach center idea years ago as a small way to help. I knew he would not approve anything too big, but a little center in the middle of a town, it was small enough to not draw too much attention. He said no and that was when I knew we would never work as lovers.” She explained and N’Jadaka nodded. “We became really good friends. We actually work better as friends but...it did hurt me to know I was not enough for him to change his mind.” She admitted and N’Jadaka looked down at his drink. He swirled the brown liquid around in the glass to not focus and not focus on how bad he felt for indirectly hurting her.

“It hurt me even worse when I found out it was you that finally pushed him to do everything.” She said with a chuckle. “You? Killmonger? The man that threatened the throne and his life? I just couldn’t believe it.” She said and N’Jadaka nodded. 

“Sometimes, I don’t even believe it.” N’Jadaka spoke. “I-I feel like I’m waitin’ for the other shoe to drop, for T’Challa to tell me to kick rocks.” He confessed. Nakia was silent for a moment before letting out a laugh. “What?” He questioned. “You drunk?” He asked her because he didn’t know why she was laughing. He didn’t say anything funny. 

Nakia shook her head. “No, I am just amazed at how right Shuri was.” She answered as she composed herself. These two were so oblivious. “But, as I was saying, I was hurt by all of this until I saw you two together and...now, I understand why.” Nakia smiled. “I could not make him see it because I could not explain it, but you lived a different reality. You could explain it and he could see it.” She explained and N’Jadaka nodded. “I am glad you opened his eyes.” She added.

“Yeah, me too.” He answered.

“T’Challa and I were too much alike but you…” Nakia smiled brightly at him. “You are his other half, the perfect mate for the black panther.” She reasoned and N’Jadaka sat up straighter. 

“I…”

“N’Jadaka!” Shuri’s voice rang through the suite as the door opened. “T’Challa is back an-Hey Nakia.” She greeted the woman on the couch. T’Challa stepped into the suite and was shocked to see Nakia on the couch, it seemed she was having a drink with N’Jadaka. 

“Nakia, I was just about to call you for dinner.” T’Challa said as he closed the door. He quickly crossed the room and went over to N’Jadaka. He made sure he was between N’Jadaka and Nakia, his back to her as he leaned down and pressed a kiss on N’Jadaka’s lips. As he pulled back, the king gave him a look and N’Jadaka let out a scoff. 

“I’m fine.” He whispered back to the worried king, silently asking if he was okay. T’Challa wasn’t sure why Nakia was here, and with her being a War Dog, wanted to make sure she didn’t try anything. “Your ex ain’t crazy.” He added before kissing T’Challa again. The king straightened up and turned so he was looking at his sister and Nakia. “So dinner?”

“I have to try these chicken and waffles I hear so much about.” Shuri said and N’Jadaka smiled.

“I know just what spot we can hit up.” The man said as he stood from the couch. “They have the best chicken n’ waffles.” He added as Nakia rose from her place.

“Okay, then it is settled.” T’Challa said as he wrapped an arm around N’Jadaka’s waist. “Come on.” He said and then led them out of the suite.

Nakia walked a step behind N’Jadaka and T’Challa as they made their way toward the elevator. A smile formed on her face she watched them listen Shuri go on and on about the meal. T’Challa turned his head to kiss N’Jadaka’s temple and N’Jadaka leaned closer to T’Challa, if that was even possible. She knew she was staring at two souls that had intertwined and become one. 

The elevator dinged and it brought her out of her thoughts. She stepped on the elevator and continued to watch the two men. T’Challa stood behind his lover and nuzzled his nose in his neck. She used to hate that, especially when he did it in public, but N’Jadaka didn’t complain. He actually leaned back and Nakia was sure T’Challa let out a pur. Nakia silently laughed as she looked away from them. 

N’Jadaka was the perfect mate for the Black Panther. 


End file.
